Russia is opening up a third front in eastern Ukraine, probably aimed at easing Ukrainian government pressure pro-Russian separatists that are being routed in Donetsk and Luhansk. This is how western analysts are looking at several incidents of incursions by Russian tanks, artillery, and combat troops into an unbreached part of the east in recent days.

Like Us on Facebook

Outside the city of Novoazovsk, Ukrainian soldiers are clearly dismayed and exhausted after they were subjected to heavy artillery fire from what they believe are Russian forces that have crossed the border in stealth.

Many of the soldiers said they were retreating because the Russian might is simply overwhelming.

Talking to a correspondent of the New York Times, a sergeant of the Ukrainian army said they were surprised when Russian forces comprised of about 60 armored vehicles crossed the border, took up positions, and started shooting.   

"This is now a war with Russia," the sergeant declared.

Many of the soldier's comrades have actually retreated back into the city after several days of fighting. At one point, a senior officer of the Ukrainian army had to separate those who were willing to continue fighting from those who simply wanted to give up and go home. A handful stood up and came forward. The others picked up their gear and headed for the buses that were waiting to take them to the city.

The way the soldiers behaved confirmed what Ukrainian and U.S. officials have been saying - that Russian forces have crossed the border and are actively battling with the Ukrainian military on their own.

The Obama administration has been saying that the Russians have send columns of tanks and armor into Ukraine, almost at the same time that Ukraine was reporting gains against the pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said these incursions "indicate a Russian-directed counter-offensive is underway."

Psaki also commented on the Russian government's unwillingness to tell the truth that its military had sent forces as deep as 30 miles into Ukrainian territory, hiding this fact even from its own soldiers.

A senior U.S. official added that Russia is helping to "tip things back in favor of its proxies," and that Russian military action has taken their toll on the Ukrainian forces.

The New York Times is also reporting that Russian forces, according to western intelligence soures, are backing a separatist offensive southward toward Mariupol, a major port town on the Sea of Azov, to open a new outlet to the sea just in case Russia attempts to establish an enclave in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, ten Russian soldiers captured near the eastern Ukraine border on Monday remain in custody in Kiev, as Moscow expressed hope they would be returned without incident to Moscow. The soldiers told Ukraine's security service, the SBU, that they were in a column of armored vehicles when they were fired upon by tanks flying Ukrainian flags. It was only later that they realized they had crossed the border.

Moscow is saying the soldiers were patrolling the border, and could have crossed accidentally into Ukraine at an unmarked point.

The soldiers were captured about 13 miles north of the nearest point of the Russian border. 

TagsUkraine